Playing the comparison game with Lotus, a rock band formed on the campus of Indiana's Goshen College, can be a losing proposition.

Some like to call the quintet a jam band but they sound nothing like Phish or Dave Matthews Band. The band dabbles in electronica but can't be lumped with Massive Attack or the Crystal Method. Though Lotus mostly shuns vocals in favor of instrumentals and can sound jazzy at times, it doesn't fit comfortably next to Medeski, Martin & Wood or Herbie Hancock's Headhunters.

All of those band's have likely had some influence on Lotus, but none of them define it.

"It's always hard to describe it," said Jesse Miller, who plays bass, of the band's sound. "It's better to go to a show and see it for yourself."

Local music fans will have the opportunity to do just that when Lotus — led by Miller and his twin brother, Luke (guitar, keyboards) — performs at the Chameleon Club on Thursday.

Those who go will likely spend most of their time dancing to a band consisting of five accomplished musicians who are not afraid to improvise and follow musical threads wherever they might lead.

"We've always tried to do something live that is danceable in some way," Miller said. "That's taken on different forms over the years. I think when we first started out, it was a lot more funk influences. Then we started to bring in different electronic dance styles, picking from genres that we really don't use much anymore."

Though instrumental music can be a tough sell in today's musical marketplace, Miller says he believes the band's fortunes are on the upswing.

He also said he believes the band's most recent album, "Hammerstrike," is the strongest of its career, which began in 1999. The album touches on many diverse styles but is rooted in melodic, guitar-driven rock.

"We've always been drawn to strong, catchy melodies," Miller said. "We do have some singing on the albums, but even when there isn't a voice carrying the melody, there's always one piece that's a hook and really leading the listener along. I think that's where the accessibility lies."

The Miller brothers (who are joined in the band by Steve Clemens, drums; Chuck Morris, percussion; and Mike Rempel, guitar) grew up in a Mennonite household in Denver, Col.

They played in punk and ska bands in high school but parted ways when Jesse went to St. John's College in New Mexico and Luke headed off to Goshen. Jesse, however, soon decided to join his brother.

"(Luke) and some of the other guys had started playing together, and I was interested in playing with them," he said.

After graduating from Goshen (Jesse earned his degree in music performance), they moved to Glenside, a Philadelphia suburb, releasing their debut album in 2003.

They've been building their audience ever since.

"There's not many bands to look up to who are instrumental bands who are really big," Miller said. "In some ways, you're kind of breaking new ground when you're pushing instrumental music into bigger rooms, bigger crowds."

E-mail: jferguson@lnpnews.com